


Golden Boy Free

by PetrichorFilledSkies



Series: Achievement Hunter's life flipped upside down [3]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe- Powers, Animal communicator Fiona Nova, Bird Gavin Free, Cat Matt Bragg, Fire Michael Jones, Fluff, Rabbit Jack Pattillo, Sickfic?, Whump, Whump with a happy ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:47:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,661
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22300555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PetrichorFilledSkies/pseuds/PetrichorFilledSkies
Summary: It was a message to a group chat with him, Fiona, Jack and Gavin in it, and his attention was picked when he saw it was from Gavin.Gavin: please helpIt's moulting season for bird-hybrid Gavin, and he's not having much fun. Lucky his friends are there to help him.
Series: Achievement Hunter's life flipped upside down [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1600756
Kudos: 50





	Golden Boy Free

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Here's everyone's powers:  
> Gavin: Part bird  
> Trevor: Telekinesis  
> Jeremy: Empath (can feel other people's emotions)  
> Michael: Fire Wielder (can use heat and fire)  
> Lindsay: Has premonitions / glimpses into the future  
> Ryan: Has powers that heal, calm, or drain a person's energy  
> Jack: Part Rabbit  
> Geoff: Can control/alter the weather  
> Alfredo: Invisibility  
> Fiona: Can speak to / understand animals  
> Matt: Part Cat

“Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuck!” Gavin moaned in frustration, reaching his arms over his shoulders to try and itch his back. “God, it’s so fuckin’ itchy!”  
“Then stop itching it!” Michael retorted, but there was no heat in his voice. Gavin had been like this for days now, and he knew the poor Brit would be getting absolutely sick of it.  
“God, I hate moulting season.” He mumbled, wriggling his shoulders and trying to itch his back on his chair. “So annoying!” He rolled his sleeves up, itching his arms too. A few of the soft feathers that sat there came off and fell to his lap, whilst others stayed in place, contrasting his red, dry skin. Michael looked over and saw Gavin’s arms, taking a look of surprise.  
“Jesus Gavin, look how much you’ve scratched the skin. Stop itching!”  
“I can’t, boi!” He replied defeatedly. “It’s like my skin is on fire. It’s so itchy.”

It was mid-April, and it was moulting season for Gavin. The human-bird hybrid didn’t shed his feathers often, maybe every year or two, but when he did it was a pain in the neck. Having wings on your back and patches of skin where feathers grew meant that the itchy feeling sucked, and it was all over. He had been wearing clothes that were supposed to help with that, and had his wings to rub against his skin to help, but nothing was seeming to work this season, and the warmer temperatures they were having weren’t helping with his skin, either.

“Have you tried a back scratcher?” Matt asked genuinely, sitting in a weird, twisted position in his chair that only a cat could comfortably achieve.  
“Yeah, and it was hell.” Gain replied, now trying to itch his back with his controller. “The scratcher got caught on my feathers and ripped a bunch of them out. Hurt like a lil’ bitch.”  
Matt winced. “Scratch that idea, then. Maybe your hands will have to do.”  
Gavin moaned in annoyance at that, giving up on itching his back and instead attempting to play the game in front of them. Michael eyed his friend sympathetically, seeing him itch his arms and hands, legs and back without even noticing it. It was going to be a painfully long season for Gavin, he thought, and rolled back into the game too.

~~~~~~

Two hours had passed and Gavin’s patience was wearing thin. His commentary was short and things in games were annoying him more easily than normal. On top of that, there was a constant quiet background sound of itching, non stop, and it was difficult to play through. After another twenty minutes of the game they were playing, Gavin put his controller down with a huff and furiously tried itching his back. His lips were pursed, and his eyebrows furrowed.  
Michael looked over to see his friend as such, and paused the game.  
“You alright, boi?” He asked, and Gavin screeched.  
“It. Is. SO. FUCKING. ITCHY!” He screamed, and his nails dug into his shirt, furiously trying to scratch his shoulders. “Why is it so much itchier than normal?! Goddammit!”  
“Whoa, Gav, that’s probably not good.” Jack chimed in, standing up from his seat to come over. Fiona joined him, concern for his friend. “If it’s itchier than normal, there might be a problem?”  
“I don’t know,” Gavin moaned. “I just know that it’s driving me mental. I can’t focus like this. I can’t play a game for ten goddamn seconds before my back is so itchy I feel like I’m going to die.”  
“Maybe you should go home for now then?” Michael replied tentatively. “Maybe go buy some bird cream or something to help with it.”  
“That’s not a bad idea.” Gavin said, itching his legs once more. “Maybe something to numb this pain in my backside.”  
“We’ll get Alfredo in to cover you for Dead by Daylight then.” Matt said helpfully, sending his friend a text. “Put yourself first, man. It’s not exactly the easiest time for you.”  
“Thanks, lads.” Gavin’s smile strained, standing up and stretching. “Hopefully I can get this shit sorted.”  
“You cleaned the house yet?” Jack joked, and Gavin grumbled childishly.  
“Not yet. There’s so many feathers on the floor.” He laughed, and pulled his wings through the cuts on his shirt, stretching them out beside him. His wingspan was tremendously long, and as he shook himself out and ruffled his wings, a large handful fell to the floor.  
“Not in here!” Michael shouted, whipping Gavin’s hair around with hot air like he did when he was annoyed. “Now I gotta clean up after you!”  
“Sorry, boi.” Gavin replied, but it was clear he was distracted, still furiously itching his back. “I’m going. Gonna go scald my back in the shower until I can’t feel it.”  
“Good luck, man.” Fiona said, patting him on the arm. “I’ll try and get some advice for my bird friends, but I doubt I’ll get much.”  
“Text us if you need anything.” Jack agreed, watching Gavin make his way to the door.  
“And try not to itch it!” Michael chimed, and Gavin gave a short thumbs up before he went straight back to just that. Michael laughed, shaking his head, and Gavin exited through the door, closing it behind him before lopsidedly taking off to head home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It wasn’t until about 7pm that night before anything else was heard. Michael was busying himself playing video games on his fireproof couch, and barely even noticed when his phone vibrated. A few minutes later, he remembered it was something to check, and paused his game, picking up his phone. It was a message to a group chat with him, Fiona, Jack and Gavin in it, and his attention was picked when he saw it was from Gavin.

Gavin: please help i want to rip my fucking skin off

Michael’s heart dropped in concern for his friend, and he jumped off the couch, forgetting his game. As he grabbed his car keys and make his way out the door, he typed a hasty reply.

Micheal: on my way boi. Hold tight

As he started up his car, he saw Jack and Fiona reply too, and he threw his car into reverse, trying to get to his friend’s house as quick as possible.

He arrived at Gavin’s house about 10 minutes later, and quickly hopped out of his car, heading inside just as Jack pulled up.“Hey.” He said, out of breath, jogging to catch up with Michael. “Is he OK?”“I don’t know. I only just got here too.” Michael replied, getting to the door and letting themselves in. “Gav, it’s us. Where you at, boi?”  
“Here.” Echoed a muffled reply from Gavin in another room, and they made their way to Gavin’s living room to find him on the floor, furiously itching his back. Michael ran to his side, peeling his hands away from his shirt.  
“Whoa, Gav, you gotta stop. It’s only going to make it worse if you rub material on it.”“It’s so fucking itchy it hurts.” Gavin’s strained reply came, and his face was wet and puffy from tears. “I can’t fucking handle this.”  
“Then something must be wrong.” Jack replied, kneeling beside Gavin too. “Can you take your shirt off for us, Gav? We’ll take a look at your back.”  
“Thank you.” Gavin’s reply was soft, and he sat up, hastily pulling off his shirt and spreading out his wings to expose his back.  
Micheal echoed a sharp intake, and Jack hissed in sympathy.  
Gavin’s back was red raw, and his skin was scratched and unbelievably dry around his wings.

“Holy shit Gav, no wonder you’re in so much pain.” Michael recovered, grabbing Gavin’s shoulder to look up close at his friend’s skin. “You’re skin is cracking and there’s little feathers coming out of it. It’s so dry, too.”  
“I don’t know what to do.” Gavin replied, pulling his shoulders back to try and ease the itching. “I had a hot shower and it’s done nothing.”  
“No, you need antibacterial cream and moisturiser big time.” Jack, replied, putting his bag down and rifling through it, grabbing out his phone. “A hot shower is only gonna make this worse.”  
“Gav, your skin is bleeding, too.” Michael continued, looking closely at where his wings began. Though they were only small grazes, it said a lot about Gavin’s state. “How much have you been itching?”  
“I tried itching it with a spatula because I was going mental. That probably did it.” Gavin muttered, embarrassed. He rubbed his face with his hands. “I’ve never felt like this before. Thanks for coming over.” He tried to itch his back and Michael slapped his hand away. “I can’t even fucking reach the base of my wings and in between them and I can’t handle it.”  
“Oh, fuck that shit.” Michael replied sympathetically. “No wonder you’re going fucking mental.”

“Will this help?” Jack asked, and reached forward, scratching in between Gavin’s wings. The moment he started gently scratching it, Gavin gasped.  
“Holyfuckingshitohmygodthatssofuckinggood” Gavin instantly melted into Jack’s touch, mumbling and slurring what he was trying to say, slumping into Jack’s hand. His wings dropped to the ground beside him and the feathers at the base of his wings ruffled. Michael and Jack laughed, surprised at his reaction, and Michael decided to help also, scratching along the sides of his wings at the top and bottom. Gavin chortled like an actual goddamn bird, which was a noise Michael had never heard Gavin make, and Gavin flopped back onto the floor, mumbling into the concrete.  
“This has just become the best day of my fucking life.” Gavin muffled into the ground, and the boys laughed.  
“Probably better that we scratch it gently than you using a fucking spatula, you moron.” Michael laughed, and watched as Jack moved to rubbing Gavin’s skin instead of scratching it. Michael did the same, guessing it was probably better at the state of how scratched it was.  
“How have I never experienced this before?” Gavin continued, stretching his wings out on the floor as he finally started to relax.  
“I have a similar question. Did you just actually chirp and how have I never heard that before?” Michael interjected.  
“I’m more bird than I thought, apparently.” Gavin laughed, and sighed contently.

“Gav? Where are you, buddy?” Fiona’s voice suddenly echoed from the front door, and Michael paused his scratching to reply.  
“We’re in the living room.”   
Fiona hurried into the room, and when she saw her friend on the floor she instantly ran over to him and dropped her bag beside him.  
“Hey, Gav. How you doing, buddy? You OK?” She rubbed a hand on his shoulder and looked up to greet the other boys. When she saw Jack rubbing in between Gav’s wings, she sighed in relief and smiled. “Oh, good. My bird friends told me that was the best thing ever.” The boys laughed at that.  
“He literally chirped like an actual bird.” Michael chimed, grinning.“No shit.” Fiona replied, laughing. “I never thought Gavin could make such a noise.” She tapped him on the shoulder again, before noticing the skin on his back. “Oh shit, Gav, look at your skin!”  
“I know, hey.” Gavin replied sheepishly. “It sucks.”“Yeah no surprise, man.” She picked up her bag and started rummaging through it. “Good thing I grabbed some stuff on my way here. That’s why I’m late.” After a few moments she pulled out a couple of containers, creams and powders. “I did my research, and these are probably the best things.”  
Jack moved his hands away from Gavin’s back (to his protest), and Fiona put some cream on her hands and rubbed it between his wings and over his shoulder blades.  
“This is an anti-itching moisturiser.” She said, rubbing small circles in between the scattered feathers on his dry skin. “It’s meant for, like, dandruff and eczema and stuff, but I’m pretty sure it will work for you too.” She gave some to Jack and Michael too, who started working on putting the cream on Gavin’s arms and legs. “You’ll need to reapply it tomorrow, though, so if you come in to work bring it with you so we can help you out.”  
“It already feels bloody fantastic so there’s no problem there.” Gavin replied, his face muffled by the floor. “Thank you guys so much. I think I would have actually died without you.”“It’s our pleasure, man.” Jack replied sincerely.  
“Yeah, you’re my boi. Nothing you wouldn’t do for me.” 

Fiona put the cream away and wiped her hands on her pants, scoping out the scene on the floor. “Gav, can I try something?”  
“O…K.” Gavin replied nervously, and relaxed his arms on the floor.  
“I’ve been doing some research about bird hybrids that have existed in the world,” She started, and rifled through her phone. “There’s certainly not many, but those with feathers tend to have a few similarities. And my bird friends told me this one.” She rifled through Gavin’s hair and parted a small patch. On his scalp were a few small, golden feathers, smaller than his hair length, scattered on his head. “Thought so. Did you know you got feathers on your head too, Gav?”  
“I’ve not had ‘em before.” He replied, curiously feeling his head with his hands. “Normally it’s just bare skin areas, like my back and arms and legs.”  
“Some birds and hybrids grow more feathers as they age, and some birds grow small plumages on their heads. Maybe that’s what you’re doing.”“Weird.” He replied uncertainly. “Will that change my hair?”  
“Probably not,” Fiona replied honestly. “But it means this will feel pretty good.” She ran her hands through his hair, massaging his scalp gently. Gavin sighed into the ground, and a small chortle escaped his lips, which made the group laugh.  
“You were not wrong about that.” He replied, and moved his head with her hands. “I’m going to need to get a masseuse after this.”  
The lads laughed and sat back, relieved that their friend was OK.

Once the cream had soaked in and Gavin could put a shirt back on, the group piled on the couch, TV on and ice cream scooped. Fiona continued to massage Gavin’s head, and Michael absent-mindedly rubbed between Gavin’s wings, watching with content relief at how much it made his friend relax. Gavin slung his wings over the back of the couch, ignoring the feathers scattered all over. He put his bowl down, yawning deeply.  
“All that itching tire you out?” Jack joked, and Gavin laughed lightly.  
“You don’t even know.” He replied lightheartedly. “Bloody mental. That cream is going to be sold out when I go shopping tomorrow.”  
Fiona laughed, still rubbing his head. “Glad I could help.”  
The movie lulled their attention once more, and the chatter dropped off as Harry Potter played the first movie. Small jokes were passed between the group, and Gavin leaned his head on Michael’s shoulder as he rubbed his back.  
It wasn’t until halfway through the movie that Gavin’s soft snores were noticed by the group, and Michael tucked into his memory the power of wing and scalp massages for when his boi was stressed. With Jack’s help, they slowly untangled themselves from him and laid him on the couch, one wing flung over the back of the couch and the other flopped off onto the floor. As Jack placed a pillow under his head, and Fiona placed a blanket over him, Michael snuck a quick photo to show the group tomorrow. Adorably hilarious, Michael knew that if Gavin was happy for it to be online that the photo would be adored by fans.

They switched the lights around his house off, leaving a small note for him on the table next to the couch, then locked the doors on their way out, and let their good friend have a well-earned night’s rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you enjoyed! I have more of these in the series :)


End file.
